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Sunday, June 10, 2012

And So It Begins...

Last Sunday marked the official start of my 6-month training plan for Ironman Arizona. I've stayed thoroughly active throughout the "off-season" but by comparison Ironman training will bury my winter workouts.

This first week of workouts quickly reminded me of the importance of having a coach at this stage of the game. For one thing the complexity of the overall plan (including its various phases) and the different types of individual workouts is difficult to coordinate. Doing the workouts will be hard enough; I'm just glad I don't have to plan them out. My job now is simple: read Coach's instructions and follow them to a tee.

In addition to having Coach's tailor-fitted training plan I also have an added level of accountability for my workouts. I'm pretty self-motivated and committed (I have had to be after
moving away from my training partners) but now I have the addition
motivation of knowing that Coach is always watching (albeit from 1400
miles away). This week I received an email nudge on Wednesday wondering if I'd been on top of the week's workouts. "Yes Coach." I had completed them all but just hadn't loaded them to Training Peaks.

All in all it was a pretty easy week consisting of about 8 hours of training. I was initially surprised by the low volumes (especially today's 45 min bike ride) but I keep reminding myself that Ironman is a completely different animal. I couldn't help but start glancing ahead at the upcoming weeks workouts which have been loaded and that was all it took for me to realize that I should enjoy these short workouts while I can.

Despite the fact that I train mostly solo I take comfort in knowing that there are about a dozen other Tri Locosfollowing Coach Tim's training plan. I may be physically alone but in my mind I feel the camaraderie and motivation of the rest of the Ironman-hopeful Locos.

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In September 2010 I participated in my first race, a duathlon in Key Biscayne, FL. I had a blast and was envious of those athletes that had completed the triathlon version of the event. I was determined to do it too; only I couldn't swim and had only been running a few months. I have since completed many triathlons, including two half-iron distance races and one full. This blog tells you how I got here, what I've learned (and am still learning), about training, nutrition, life balance, gear, and all other things triathlon-related. What started it all?

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#1: For this blog I rely on my own experiences with triathlon training, relevant literature, and other pertinent information from credible sources. I am not a doctor, personal trainer, dietician, or fitness/triathlon coach; all the information provided here is for informational purposes only.

#2: I have a good amount of product reviews on this blog; I buy these products myself and provide the reviews to help out other triathletes. I haven't received any free products or compensation for these reviews. If at any point I begin to receive samples to review I will make this clear in the reviews.